On tap at Aidan’s, Utah brewery’s flagship beer succeeds at making bitter hop-head fare approachable for general consumption. Inviting floral-citric medium body contrasts brusque juniper-hopped grapefruit bittering and resinous pine sapping with tangy orange-tangerine-mango-pineapple fruiting. A glint of lemon zest crystallizes the citra-hopped finish. Heady vodka-like 9% alcohol volume intensifies bitter lupulin influence (but not at the expense of its rounded mouthfeel).
Delicately pungent Black India Pale Ale (a.k.a Cascadian Dark) with penetrative dark-roasted chocolate malting and hop-charred flaked oats bittering receives resinous piney buildup to contrast light citrus smear. Bakers chocolate, black coffee, black currant, black grape, blackberry, cocoa and cola nut undertones waver.
On tap at Julian’s, exquisite red zinfandel-aged bock combines sweet red wining with vinous green-yellow grape pucker and buttery Chardonnay perk. Soothing oaken vanilla tones pick up sour cherry, rhubarb and crab apple snips. Wispy lemon and orange peel bittering recedes into the backdrop. A lovely white wine alternative.
Brisk clean-watered milk chocolate entry picks up dark toffee, cocoa and coffee highlights over mild toasted hop char. Whoppers-like malted milk ball pleasantry contrasts lactic-soured dark chocolate bittering at the midst. Tart black cherry waver, wafting anise spicing and light bourbon nip fill out silken brownie-battered finish.
A simple pleasure. Biscuity medium-bodied English pale ale may lack vigor, but its easygoing session-ability will please tamer thirsts. Toasted barley-hop crisping, sweet caramel malting, dried orange fruiting and tingly spicing sit atop cereal-grained torrified wheat spine.
Amped-up Anheuser-Busch hybrid combines Michelob-related Scotch dryness with Budweiser’s beechwood-chipped corn sugaring for stronger 6% alcohol lager. Musky hop astringency addles starchy rice and cardboard-y caramel malts, but sweet spicing saves crisp, clean finish.
Decent amber-hazed, yeast-clouded, soft-bodied citric shandy brings tangy navel orange, mandarin orange and tangerine zest as well as sweet orange peel respite to sharp hop-fizzed coriander spicing, picking up minor astringency along the way. Seltzer-watered orange sherbet tartness and floral orange blossom nip seep in.
Casual light-bodied witbier hastily gets watery as faltering sweet ‘n soured orange peel entry picks up ginger-honeyed orange blossom perfuming and mild grassy hop acridity over soft white wheat bed. Lemon-candied raspberry tartness, latent coriander spicing, tangy tangerine respite and wispy curacao orange smidge drowned out by phenol carbolic fizz. Faded fruit-spiced finish lacks sugary punch.
Despite dropping roasted bull testicles into the mash tun, creamily rich stout retains lovely dark and brown chocolate sweetness. Fudgy chocolate-kissed Nestles Quik cocoa powdering deepened by chocolate mousse caking and oily anise spicing to contrast ashen nuttiness. Tertiary espresso coffee, black cherry and hazelnut undertones fade away. Forget about the advertised bovine nuts, this one’s way closer in taste to malt balls.
